Vietnam-India relations have been nurtured over several centuries. In recent years, the bilateral political relationship has been upgraded to strategic and comprehensive strategic partnership in 2007 and 2016, respectively. There has also been proactive growth in all sectors of the bilateral relationship, across economic, cultural and strategic dimensions, including maritime cooperation. In the context of increasing security challenges and threats to the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, along with other non-traditional security issues in the maritime domain such as piracy and terrorism, there is a critical need for an enhanced Vietnam-India maritime cooperation. This paper examines the current status of maritime cooperation between Vietnam and India, and affirms urgent requirements making two countries deepen their maritime cooperation.
